


this house don’t feel like home

by pettigrace



Series: a shortstop along third base [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Between Episodes, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Dimension Travel, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, M/M, Making Up, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Drug Use, Post-Episode: s02e10 By The Light Of Dawn, Saphael endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-06 21:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11045085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pettigrace/pseuds/pettigrace
Summary: Time-Travel? Easy Peasy. Try Dimension-Travel instead. That's hard.(or: Show-Canon!Simon gets thrown into multiple alternate universes and tries to find a way out.)





	1. World 1.0

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, together!  
> Are we really a week before the end of a Shadowhunters hiatus before I post a new fic? I don't think so. So here we go!
> 
> Also, it might just be an excuse for me to show what a multishipper I am. Saphael's endgame, though. You'll see.
> 
> The title is from X Ambassador's "Unsteady".
> 
> As to the setting: the fic takes place between the last ep of 2A and the first of 2B.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> (PS.: If people like it, I might write an additional fic with each chap with the respective dimension's Simon.)

Rationally, Simon knows that stepping into the alternate dimension is a mistake. Especially after Magnus told them not to do it again after Clary and Jace had almost gotten stranded the first time they did it. But when Clary, wonderful persuasive Clary, asked him to go along, be her mental crook - who was he to say no?

He still doesn't understand why Clary even trusts Meliorn or how she got him to open a portal when only a few days ago he'd been set on killing her for good. Clary says that exactly is the reason for things going this way: that he owes her now. The logic of this supernatural world is still beyond him.

She tells him their exact plan (which isn't really as elaborative actually) again as they walk to meet Meliorn in the woods. “He said he'd do his best to open a portal to the world I've already been to-- to make things easy so I'm not that lost again. Plus, the Magnus there already knows this version of me, so he'll help.”

“I'm still wrapping my mind around all this.”, Simon admits. Usually you'd expect him, the Nerd™, to be thrilled about the fact that not only do demons and vampires exist, but that there's also a multiverse. He's been raised to think of all this as exaggerated legends though, and to think of _travelling_ between dimensions as a thing as far off as time travel. “Tell me about Simon 2.0 again.”

And so she does, to make sure that he won't fuck up his role. He hears again that it's a world with demons long gone, meaning that there's no Shadowhunters any more - it makes him wonder about other beings, those with demon blood. And apparently, both Magnus and Alec and Clary and Jace are, like, the OTPs to end all OTPs, meant to be in every possible timeline. His initial attraction to Izzy seems to have become something more, seeing how he - _no_ , Simon 2.0 - had meant to ask her to move in with him.

All in all, it seems like a row of what could have been if they were to have normal lives. Hell, even Valentine is a normal dude. The only thing that seems way too far off is that, apparently, him and Jace are friends. Like, best bros.

“Whom else have you see of this world?”, he wants to know, acting casually, as if she wouldn't know he's just waiting for one name to be dropped.

“Uh, my mom, Luke - he runs a bookstore? -, Hodge and I guess a few people in passing.”, Clary shrugs. Then it dawns on her, “Not Ra-- not him, sorry.”

Simon nods and presses his lips together. It's ridiculous to assume that he'd be there - if there's rarely anything supernatural left, it'd mean Raphael’s probably gotten around to live his mundane life like he should've been.

If he's not there, it's only better.

And still, Simon would love to see his-- _no, thi_ s -- a young(-looking) Raphael live a peaceful life. And maybe he could've gotten out of him how to fix things with Raphael 1.0. How to approach him.

It’s a stupid idea and Simon wished he could say 'it’s fine, I don't need him anyway’ but if the past weeks have shown anything, it's the opposite of that. Not in a sappy sense like _oh, I can't imagine living without the guy I'm crushing on_ but literally. Without Raphael, Simon would've died so often he can't even count. True, he'd never have become a vampire, but what matters is _after that_ , when Raphael hasn't had to follow anyone's rules but his own. (Well, and the Accords.)

“He'll come around,” Clary says, “He needs a while.”

Simon wonders if she's aware just how much his betrayal has ruined Raphael. And what is he doing now? Running after her like a puppy, doing the same mistake again.

He wishes he could say no, but he's only a Hufflepuff after all.

 

-

 

Meliorn seems like a shady person, even for World 1.0 standards (is Simon trying to label the worlds to make things easier? Yes, he is.). Not only has he set a death penalty on his best friend, but he seems to talk in riddles and metaphors only.

“My, I'm surprised to see a child of the night here.”, he says all mysteriously.

Simon raises an eyebrow (well, he tries), raising his glance to the sky. “It's day.”

“And yet, you are a vampire.”, Meliorn smirks. “Raphael Santiago’s fledgeling, are you not?”

Simon flinches at the title, unable to respond. Not only has he never been _Raphael’s_ fledgeling - it's been Camille who's turned him - but he's long forfeit being _anything_ to Raphael.

“I rarely heard a vampire, may he walk under the sun, to choose a Shadowhunter over his Clan,” Meliorn continues, “but if one knew one another as mundanes, a death penalty causes that, I suppose.”

“What do you mean? _You_ were the one who wanted me dead!”, Clary exclaims, sounding as confused as Simon is.

Meliorn nods at her. “I will not apologize. You understand that it would've been a logical solution, don't you? However, so did Raphael.”

Simon blinks at him, clenching his jaw. He knows the reasoning of Meliorn warning Clary's death, of course he does, but there's nothing that would justify his _best friend's death_ , nothing in the entire world. And Raphael may hate Clary, hate _him_ , but he's never been one to cause deaths. He wouldn't have agreed, would he?

Before either of them can respond, Meliorn rubs his hands together, “But we aren't here to gossip, are we?”

“How do I know you're not sending Clary into her death anyway?”, Simon asks, stepping between them as Meliorn steps closer to Clary.

“Ah,” Meliorn makes, “but the Sword has been activated already. To kill Clarissa now seems a bit redundant.”

“Si--”

“I will step through the portal first,” Simon interrupts her. “Check if everything's alright. If it isn't-- well, turns out I'm not that easy to kill, am I?”

Clary rolls her eyes at him. “Simon, faeries can't lie.”

Simon looks from her to Meliorn, who gives a small devilish smile. “Oh. Nobody told me _that_. Anyway, I'll still do it.”

“Simon, you don't--”

“I'm here, aren't I? Might as well make myself useful.”

“Are you finished?”, Meliorn wants to know. “The vampire can cross first, if he likes.”, he adds and points at a spot between two intertwined trees.

“Yes,” Simon nods. “Let's get this show on.”

Meliorn raises an eyebrow and nods, too, before turning to do his magic.

The portal reminds Simon more of Stargate than those that Magnus conjures regularly and Simon hopes that also means to step through easier. Magnus’ portals? Like the worst roller coaster you can think of - probably worse than apparating in Harry Potter. The one Cap O’Neal, Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson step through? Just a normal water bath leading you to another planet or whatever. Yeah, really sounds like the better idea.

“Wait a few minutes before coming after me,” Simon tells Clary, “maybe I come back screaming in pain.”

“I doubt you could do that, but alright.”, she chuckles despite the situation.

Simon wraps his arms around her and kisses his head - it feels weird, even though they only broke up this morning, to be this intimate. They've skipped the heartbreak phase, probably because nothing either of them felt was romantic love, but it feels weird anyways. “If everything goes right, I get to kiss Izzy, so that'll be cool.”, he says and looks over to Meliorn, who's crossed his arms in annoyance, “Hey, Izzy is a good kisser, right?”

“ _Vampire_ ,” Meliorn snarls and Simon doesn't know if he's just not one for sentimental feelings or if he doesn't like the idea of Isabelle kissing anyone else (which makes Simon think: Does he know about the mess Izzy and Raphael have gotten into?), “If you would be so kind and step through the portal? Last time a demon went through, remember?”

“Right. Well then, may the Speedforce be with me.”, Simon mumbles to himself before pacing towards the silver light.


	2. World 2.0

Entering another body feels like waking up from a nightmare, Simon decides. But maybe he just feels like that because it causes Simon 2.0’s body to literally wake up.

The body next to his - Isabelle’s - shifts at the movement, probably missing the warmth of his arm and stretches out like a cat waking up. Initially he thought the Star Wars shirt she's wearing would be his, but seeing how it's so short that it reveals not only her panties but half her stomach as she stretches, makes him think it's hers. Turns out Clary hadn't lied about how Izzy 2.0 is a nerd, too. He averts his eyes quickly, feeling as if he's a perv for watching her like this, barely clothes and only just getting up. After all, he's not the right Simon to do this.

Izzy smiles up at him when she curled up next to him. “Morning.”

“Uh, hi.”, he smiles down at her and does his best not to freeze when she pulls him down for a kiss.

“So,” she starts playing with the hem of his shirt, still grinning, “Last night was--”

“Yeah, that sure happened!”, Simon blurts, panicking so she wouldn't go into detail. Hell, he doesn't even know what she's referring to. It seems obvious that they've had sex but-- has it been for the time? Did they celebrate anything? Is it a regularly thing for them to discuss the sex they've had?

If you'd asked him weeks ago, before everything was messed up in every way, what he'd feel like when he thinks about sex with Isabelle, he'd have been gone. Now, however, he can't help but think how wrong it is. Not that having  _ sex with Izzy _ seems wrong but just-- it's difficult, okay?

To his relief, this Izzy just giggles. 

Simon sighs (and fakes it into a yawn) and stratches for his phone. It's 10am on a Sunday, so it seems safe to get up. Plus, it means he won't have to show up at any job he might have. That's good.

“I'll, uh, shower--”, he tells her quickly and gets up from the bed. He collects the clothes that are shattered in the room. “I wanted to meet up with Clary, remember?”

Izzy laughs. “When don't you?”

Simon takes that as enough of a reply to leave her behind.

He finds the bathroom quickly, seeing how it's the only door that's closed, so he doesn't have to step from one end of the flat to the other. Not that that would've taken up a lot of time (apparently whatever he works as does not give him much money for a big apartment) but it would've been weird for Izzy to hear her (supposed) boyfriend aimlessly walk around a place he should know.

The bathroom looks as if it's usually only used by one person - him, to be exact - but there's a couple of things scattered that he'd never think of buying. He wonders if Simon 2.0 ever got around to ask Izzy to properly move in with him. Maybe that was what they celebrated last night…

When he leaves the bathroom, dressed and perfumed, feeling more like himself, and goes back towards the hall, the smell of coffee reaches him. He finds Izzy in the kitchen, sitting in front of her own mug and handing him another one when he sits down across from her.

He takes a sip, finding it exactly as he likes and sighs, “I love you.”

Before he can freeze (what if Simon 2.0 and Izzy 2.0 hadn't gotten there yet and she'd think he's serious?!), she smiles brightly. “I know.”

“And?”, he smiles back.

“I love you, too.”, she replies, causing him to lean over for a kiss. 

It feels good to kiss her, natural all of sudden-- and then, when he's back on his seat, he finally freezes after all. It's felt weird only minutes ago, it  _ shouldn't _ feel natural. He remembers how Clary's told her that staying in one dimension for too long could make you forget this isn't your place. But really? She could've told him how fast it happens.

He pulls out his phone again to text Clary, asking her, “ _ r u u? _ ”

He gets a reply only moments lazer: “ _ of course I'm me what are you getting at??? _ ”

Well, that answer didn't really help, so he tries something else. “ _ who is raphael? _ ” Who knows when the guy became their safeword.

“Everything alright?”, Izzy wants to know. “You look like the time Alec said Padme is irrelevant.”

“How could he say that?”, Simon exclaims. “Padme is one of the most amazing women the cinema has ever brought forward! Especially for the time the movies were made!”

Izzy chuckles. “That's exactly what you've told him, remember? And then you were like--”

“At least he'd bang Hayden Christensen.”, Simon nods and laughs along.

Shit, that's not good. He shouldn't remember this. Why can he even remember things that aren't  _ his _ memories? That makes no sense.

He looks at his phone again and tries to hide his reaction at Clary’s “ _ raphael who? _ ”. Great, Clary 1.0's still not here and he's slowly loosing himself. 

He decides to wait for her a little bit longer and if she doesn't appear then, he'll go look for Magnus. Either he helps him track down the Sword and find a way back to World 1.0.

 

-

 

An hour and multiple slips into a personality that's not his later Simon finds himself wandering the streets of Brooklyn. He's glad the city's map is the same in this world, so he can simply find his way to Magnus’ apartment. He's only been there a couple of times in his world, but those have been memorable times (especially the walk back when Magnus all but threw him and Raphael out - Raphael's claimed it was just so Magnus could deal with Camille alone, but deep down Simon's thought it was meant so they could finally talk things out - something Raphael's denied him by pretty much shouting at him before leaving) so he manages quite well. 

The doorbell doesn't read “Magnus Bane - High Warlock of Brooklyn” but rather “Magnus Bane - Psychic Reader” and it's missing it’s usual extravaganza, but Simon doubts there are as many Magnus Bane's around. He presses the bell and expects it to bust open by magic like it usually does after sensing the area, but no, he actually has to wait for Magnus to appear.

And boy, does he appear. He looks nothing like the Magnus he knows. The make-up is missing and the usual sparkly and colourful clothing. His hair is not styled at all, almost resembling a Bieber-haircut from 2012, and Simon can't help but stare at him in shock.

Magnus doesn't look impressed either. “It's a Sunday, I'm closed.”, he tells him and moves to close the door.

Simon puts his foot forward to stop him. “Sorry, I'm, uh, a friend of Clary's?”

“Clary?”

“Fray. Or, well, Fairchild.”, Simon nods. “Well, her World 1.0 counterpart, I mean.”

Magnus stares at him before rubbing a hand over his face. “She did it  _ again _ ?”

“Well, no, not yet. So far it's me only. Though she  _ was _ to follow, so that's why I'm here.”

Magnus blinks at him and opens the door again to let him in.

“Does time pass differently in between worlds?”, Simon wants to know. He looks around the dark corridor, finding it so unlike Magnus that he wonders how different the same person can be in different dimensions. Another thing to ask.

“I have no idea, I don't think so.”, Magnus says. “Why are you here?”

“Well, Clary said to find you if we hadn't found--”

“Found what?”

“The Soul Sword?”, Simon offers with a shrug. He looks around in the living room as well, finding the knife Magnus 1.0 had found among Camille's things in India. 

“You lost the Soul Sword.”, Magnus 2.0 now says, dumbfounded. “First the Mortal Cup and now this. What's  _ wrong _ in your world?”

“Oh, a lot.”, Simon assures him. “Don't let me get started on the whole Dying-Being-a-Vampire-Being-Able-To-Walk-in-the-Sun-business.”

“Seriously? Who are you even?”

“Oh, yeah, Simon Lewis.”, Simon extends his hand. “Clary's best friend.”

“Pleasure. You seem to know who I am. Though, I'm a  _ retired _ warlock.”

Simon gives him an apologetic smile. “Yeah, I know. Sorry for that.”

Magnus sighs. “Well, you're here now, aren't you? Tell me how you lost the Sword.”

And so Simon does. He tells him about how Valentine has stolen it, how he'd meant to activate it with Clary's angel blood but how it turns out that Jace was the same, and how it's been activated and and and. Magnus looks like he's just bingewatched three seasons of Doctor Who and tries to wrap his mind about River Song’s plotline. Yeah, it feels like that.

“And suddenly it was gone.”, Simon closes.

“And you figured to search in another world before you even started looking on your own?”, Magnus asks.

Simon blinks at him. Thinking about it, it does seem a bit weird.

“Pumpkin, if I didn’t know any better, I'd say someone wanted to get rid of you.”

“Of me?”, Simon blinks. “But Clary-- why--”

“How long have you been here?”

“This morning. About 10am?”

Magnus shoots a look at the clock. “It’s 2 now. Well, that leaves us with 8 hours.”

“8 hours? Until what?”

“Until you've accepted this world as your own.”

 

-

 

“My friend, I thank you.”, Clarissa says, taking out her stele. She moves it over her arm and transforms back into the appearance of a young blond man. “This should help distract the Shadowhunters.”

Meliorn smiles at him. “And it will make my Queen happy.”

“Of course it will.”

“And my payment?”

The man smiles, taking a jar out of his jacket. “Here you go. Nobody shall claim that Sebastian Morgenstern doesn't keep his promises.”

 

-

 

“I can't go to my-- to Simon 2.0’s friends! Not when I should be trying to find a way  _ back _ .”, Simon whines. 

This Magnus seems to know  _ something _ about magic despite his 'retirement’ so shouldn't he be the one who's suggest they search for a solution? But no, here he sits, saying that it'd be the best for Simon to get settled into this world.

And yeah, maybe he wouldn't even know it anymore once all the memories of Simon 2.0 flooded his brain, but what's with Simon 1.0? Will he be gone just like that? Will he be replaced by an emotionless robot? He'd rather have all Simons in their respective places.

“I don't think I can get you back.”, Magnus says simply, maybe with a sad subtone.

“But-- you did it with Clary, too, didn't you?”

“That portal already existed. Clarissa was only supposed to pass through, not to stay here.”

“So you're saying,” Simon starts, “my best friend conspired with the guy who set a bounty hunt at her head to get rid off me.”

“It seems so. People change under dangerous circumstances.”, Magnus says.

“But Clary-- Clary would  _ never _ !”, Simon says, “Not ever! That's not-- no.”

“Look on the bright side,” Magnus offers, “You're out of that truly miserable life.”

“That's-- it wasn't miserable! Look, this isn't  _ my _ life. There's so many differences! For instance, you should be slowly starting to date Alec--”

“Alexander and I did have our first date yesterday.”

“You did? Wow, uh, congratulations.”, Simon blinks. “Still, like, I don't know! Do you know Raphael? Is he here? Did you ever meet him?”

This time it's Magnus’ turns to blink at him. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“I-- what? No!”, and then, because this isn't his Magnus, not even his world, he adds, “We could've been. But we, uh, we aren't.”

“And you're, what, planning to fix it?”

“I doubt that's possible.”

“So why go back to a world of 'could’ve been’ when you're at one where things  _ are _ ?”, Magnus wants to know. He looks seriously concerned.

“I-- I don't know. I'm just--  _ this _ is not me. And this is not my life, my friends are different, I get along with people I actually don't get along with--”, Simon goes on, “And for all I know Raphael's been dead for decades--”

He doesn't know why he always comes back to Raphael. The guy hates him, for God's sake. He should be glad to have someone who'd kill him if given the chance gone, and here he sits having him as his strongest argument to get to how things were. It's fucked up, but that's his life. Gotta add it to the list.

“Look, I'd love to get you back home but I don't have to powers…”

Suddenly Simon realizes that there's more than one warlock he can turn to. Well, yeah, personally he only knows two and one of them wanted Clary to carry out warlock babies, but he's heard of more. “What about Ragnor? Do you know Ragnor?”

“Do I know--? Of course I know Ragnor!”, Magnus pouts, actually looking a tad offended. “He's reclined to, uh, brewing special sorts of tea. The English love it.”

“Can't you, like, collaborate? Look, I don't have anything to give you in exchange-- not even vampire hair, this version of me - but if I could--”

“Simon,” Magnus begins and Simon thinks he might like this version better for actually calling him by his name, “I can try to contact Ragnor but there's no guarantee we can come up with something.”

“I know!”, Simon says quickly. “But you'll ask him? Please?”

Magnus nods and takes out his phone, eagerly typing away. 

Simon knows it's only a faint hope but he can't surpress it nonetheless.

 

-

 

“Can’t say that it’ll actually work, but we might have found a way, kiddo.”, Ragnor says as he flops down on the couch next to him.

There's not much time left, so Simon lets out a sigh of relief. He guessed that being around people Simon 2.0 is not familiar with has helped to keep his memories away, so he's only struggling once in a while. Meeting Ragnor was especially distracting because Simon's almost told him how,  _ hey _ , by the way, you're dead in my world. But once he's gotten past that, Ragnor turned out to be quite a cool guy who's taken him seriously despite cracking bad jokes. Really, Simon could get used to him, if need be.

“Really?”, he asks excitedly.

“We can't just send you back to your world, but we can put a spell on your that lets you visit several dimensions until you find the right one.”, Ragnor explains.

Magnus enters, carrying three glasses of drinks that don't look like something Simon's allowed to drink, and continues, “It'll leave you in the dimension for nine hours and if it's the right one, you can just force it to go away. If it's a wrong dimension, just go along.”

“What, so it's up to how badly I want to leave?”

“Pretty much.”, Ragnor nods and accepts the glass Magnus hands him. “Sound like a deal?”

Simon doesn't think it's the best solution at all, but it's all they've got, so he nods.

“Well, then we better hurry up.”, Ragnor motions for Magnus to get up again.

“I literally  _ just _ sat down.”, Magnus points out with an eyeroll but gets up anyway. Well, maybe Magnus 2.0 has his downsides, too.

Simon gets up, too, but he doesn't know what to do, so he just keeps standing there. He watches Ragnor massage his own hands and lifts his eyebrows but doesn't say anything.

And then, Magnus tells him to stand more at the middle of the room. Once he's followed suit, they begin to do some kind of dance around him. 

It's weird to have them circle him, especially since Magnus’ magic seems weaker and he's performing it differently (really, where's the flourish?) but soon he feels something.

“Uh, there's a tug in my chest?”, Simon says, “Something the like?”

“Yeah, that's probably the signal. If you wanna leave, concentrate on it. And on the place you wanna go to.”, Ragnor says.

Simon nods firmly and closes his eyes. The tugging in his chest feels like homesickness and heartbreak together, like there's something missing - just like it is. And he thinks of a place where Clary is, where Isabelle isn't his girlfriend, where Alec and Magnus have first kissed at a wedding, and, of course, a place where Raphael is, too.

The sound of Magnus’ and Ragnor’s chants get more quiet until they're gone completely, and the feeling in his chest is gone. He opens his eyes.

And when he sees he's at Java Jones, he knows that he's not back at World 1.0. This body? It belongs to Simon 3.0.


	3. World 3.0

“Magnus, have you heard from Simon?”

As much as Magnus likes Clarissa, he decides that she's way too, well, alive in the morning. Especially when it's one morning after the activation of the Soul Sword - he's had to take care of people and Alec has found himself dealing with Isabelle in her addiction and Jace as he blames himself for something that's not his fault, and the two of them had only been able to get back together in the middle of the night.

So, yeah, being woken up by the daughter of the Enemy of The World is not the ideal thing you want to experience.

“He's not here, biscuit.”, Magnus says, only halfway suppressing a yawn. “Did you try the werewolves’ lair?”

“Of course I did!”, Clarissa exclaims in offense. “Luke says none of them saw or smelled him.”

“But he wasn't hurt yesterday, was he?”

“No, nothing. Only thing that happened to him is that suddenly he can walk in the sun.”

Magnus frowns. He'd almost forgotten about that. He's heard of legends about vampires who are immune to the sunlight - _daylighters_ , they are called - but he's never thought of them to be real. And to think that a _fledgeling_ was granted that talent seems absurd. “Maybe he's enjoying himself right now. He'll show up, I promise.”

“I just don't want anything _more_ to happen to him.”, Clary sniffs.

“He'll be fine.”, Magnus assures her. “If there's still no word of him tonight, tell me and I'll search for him.”

Another sniffle. “Thank you, Magnus.”

 

-

 

Simon hasn't set a foot into Java Jones since the whole Downworld business began, so it's already suspicious that he's here. It also looks faintly different, the colour scheme more on the green side for some reason.

He's also here with Clary and Maureen - well, their World 3.0 counterparts - which shouldn't be possible because Maureen 1.0 must be pretty pissed at him at the moment. She'd rather claw out his eyes than sit in a café with both him and Clary, so it's safe to assume that in this universe there's no awkward love triangle between them. Or what Simon thought to be love. Whatever.

He just heard the end to a joke that he doesn't understand since Simon 1.0 hasn't been present to the beginning of it and pretends to laugh along when both girls seem to almost cry in laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a familiar figure at the cash and freezes.

His hair isn't styled the way it is in World 1.0 but reveals some natural curls now, and the green apron he wears is so different from the usual stylish attire that at first Simon doesn't think it's him. But the way he moves is the same - graceful, every step calculated, almost looking like a dance - and even from here Simon can make out his face well enough to recognise him. Raphael.

“Earth to Simon!”

He blinks when a hand waves in front of his face and moves his head to look at Clary. “Yeah, what? Sorry, I was-- distracted.”

Maureen chuckles. “That was bound to happen. Maybe we should stop coming here during Curly Boy’s shifts.”

“Or maybe Simon should finally get things going and ask him for his number.”, Clary says with a pointed look.

“Me--? I-- I wasn't even--”, Simon begins to stutter but then he realizes what they mean. _Apparently_ , Simon 1.0 isn't the only one who may like Raphael. Another slightly universal thing, as it appears. He sighs, “Okay, maybe I was.”

Maureen snickers at that. “You really should ask him out. I doubt he doesn't notice you staring.”

“Yeah, it's probably starting to be creepy.”, Clary nods.

Simon looks over to Raphael again, wondering if he should do Simon 3.0 a favour and go talk to him. He may have ruined _everything_ with _his_ Raphael by freeing Camille and being a dick about it but if another version of himself has a chance, it would be stupid to deny it. Plus, he hasn't properly talked to any Raphael in a long time, so it would be nice to hear him say anything other than threats and orders.

“You know what?”, he says. Not only to the girls but also to himself. “I'm gonna do it.”

“You-- what?”, Clary says, looking shocked.

Simon just nods and gets up to walk over to the counter. He has no idea what he's even doing, he's no clue about this version of himself at all, and here he goes changing a big aspect of his life. He hopes it goes well.

Once he's standing at the counter, right in front of Raphael, who's just cleaning the coffee machine and therefore not noticing him, he realizes he has no idea how to do this. The experience with Maia has shown him that he should try to be like Jace 1.0 but simply himself. But what's Simon 3.0 like? Is he as much of a nerd as he is? Does he have a band?

Raphael notices his presence and straightens his back, putting away the cloth he'd used. “Hi, can I get you anything?”, he asks with a fake smile (that he's probably required to put on).

Before Simon can even think - not that he'd be able to because even if it's fake, a smiling Raphael is a smiling Raphael - he blurts out, “Your number?” Then he adds, “Shit, that was bad.”

To his surprise, it earns him a chuckle. An honest one that sounds like those he'd get when he creatively complained during one of their training sessions and he can't help but grin. Raphael agrees, “Yeah, that _was_ bad.”

“Hey, I can't help it!”, Simon argues. “Not my fault that you mess up my brain.”

Raphael chuckles again when Simon blushes at his own words.

“I mean, you-- uh, you look nice--”, Simon stammers before groaning and putting his head down on the counter. “See?”

“Thank you.”, Raphael smiles in full honesty. “You don't look that bad either.”

Simon lifts his head at that. “You--? I-- thank you?”

“Give me your phone,” Raphael orders in a tone so soft that Simon hesitates. “Come on-- what's your name?”

“Uh, Simon.”

“Simon,” Raphael repeats. “Do you want my number or not?”

As a response, Simon reaches into every pocket his outfit has until he finally finds the phone. Their fingers brush shortly when Raphael takes it and now even he blushes softly. It's a lovely sight and for a short moment, he thinks of multiple things to say so that he'd blush again. Then he said out of it. This isn't his world, he won't stay here so he shouldn't get too wrapped up in this version of Raphael.

Simon watches as he types in his number, softly tapping his fingers on the counter. Raphael 1.0 would've looked at him irritatedly but 3.0 doesn't seem to mind. Simon stops again when he holds out his phone.

He looks down on the contact data, and as if he learns the name just now, he says, “Raphael.”

As a response he gets a smile.

“Well, I'll, uh, I'll text you. I gotta get back to my friends but you'll hear from me.”, Simon promises as he pockets the phone.

“I should hope so.”, Raphael nods. “Have a good evening, Simon.”

“You too!”

And then Simon turns around and walks back to the table where Clary and Maureen are waiting for him. He grins at them and does jazz hands as he walks, indicating that it's gone well. The girls don't even try to hide their cheers.

 

-

 

Simon wouldn't say that his life is screwed up over all. He is enjoying his studies, his dad is taking him to all comic cons you can think of, he has the best of friends. And yet, today seems even better, simply because he's scored the number of the guy he'd been watching for weeks.

As he lies on the couch of his and Clary’s apartment, curled up with her to watch their weekly bingewatch of missed _The Lightwoods_ episodes, he can't help but hum softly in happiness.

It's nothing out of the ordinary that they spend a Monday evening like this but for some reason Simon feels like they haven't done this in ages. Just chilling and watching some trash TV about rich kids and their problems (and Clary going on about how she doesn't know who's more attractive - Isabelle or Jace). He feels something in his chest as they watch Isabelle go on about how Jace wouldn't mind her taking his bike as long as he won't know but ignores it in favour of laughing along.

It's only when they watch Alec and his not-so-secret-secret-lover Magnus reunite at Alec's engagement party that his parents have set up that Simon 1.0 snaps out if it.

As Clary cries softly the feeling in his chest gets stronger and Simon realizes why he's felt so weirdly content: Because _this_ situation _is_ way too calm and happy for his standards. He has already seen this scene live and in flesh but still different enough for him to realize that he's not in the right World. As wonderful as it seems with Clary by his side, his dad alive, a chance with Raphael and everything as  mundane as it should be - it's not right. It's not how it should be for him, even though he should give everything for a life like this.

So he closes his eyes and concentrates on the feeling. He thinks about his normal life again, this time about how the Lightwoods should be around him, too, how Jace hates him -- and then he's gone.

And the first thing he hears truly is Jace shouting “I hate you, Simon Lewis!” with more venom in his voice than he's ever had directed at him.

 

-

 

“Maybe we should ask Raphael.”, Clarissa says thoughtfully.

Admittedly, she's calmer than Magnus would've expected her at the idea of her best friend missing, but he's shutting her down quickly anyway. “Raphael's nothing to do with Simon's disappearance.”

He’s tried to find the young vampire by magic already with no use. Clary’d insisted on searching for him by foot, too, to go to every possible hiding place Simon could think about (which, as it turns out, are a lot) and Magnus just couldn’t say no. She’s sounded close to crying and with all that’s going on, he wouldn’t want to cause her more pain. They’re now back at his flat, exhausted from looking everywhere but of course she doesn’t stop thinking about where Simon could be.

“How'd you know? It wouldn't be his first time kidnapping him.”, Clarissa argues. “Plus, he _has_ been threatening Simon.”

“Has he really?”, Magnus says sarcastically. He knows that Raphael hasn't been his nicest after his and Simon's fallout but he's also aware that he'd never hurt his fledgeling in any way. Magnus had actually asked Raphael about the fact that Simon wouldn't shut up about 'burned off junks’ while they were in India, to which Raphael's only said he'd told Simon what the _Clave_ would do to him. So yeah, way to understand things wrong. “Raphael has other things to worry about.”

He has no idea if Clarissa knows about what Aldertree has gotten both Isabelle and Raphael into, and if she doesn't it's not his place to say, so he gives her a pointed look to end the conversation.

“I'm just worried, is all.”, Clarissa pouts.

Magnus wraps an arm around her in comfort. He can only imagine what pain she must go through, with her father starting a war, her mother dead, her supposed brother feeling guilty about the death of dozens of people and now her best friend missing. They all have bitter things to face at the moment, but as it only circles back to her, she probably has the most.

“We'll find him.”, Magnus promises her.


	4. World 4.0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day? Do you know what that means?  
> Not only that I'm bored as hell, but also that I finished writing this!
> 
> (You may want to check whether you already read Chapter 3 which I updated this morning. (June 1st CEST))

A thing World 4.0 has in common with his world? Simon's lovelife is truly and utterly screwed up. 

He'd never have imagined that  _ any _ version of him could get along with  _ any _ version of Jace, let alone  _ date _ him and yet here he is. Which means, admittedly, there's currently a massive argument going on, with Simon standing on the open street and Jace throwing his clothes out of a window.

That's what makes Simon assume that they're dating. It's like this one cliche scene in every romcom, so it's safe to say it's no argument between roommates.

“How could I  _ ever _ think we'd  _ work out _ !”, Jace screams as he throws down another pair of jeans.

Yup, seems like dating. Or well, breaking up.

“Come on!”, Simon calls up, “Let's talk about this!”

“There's  _ nothing _ to talk about!”, Jace replies before closing the window so violently Simon fears the glass may break.

It's kind of weird to have something like this happening to you without feeling anything - hell, he doesn't even know what just happened - so he quietly starts picking up his clothes before pulling out his phone. He's glad to find Clary among Simon 4.0’s contacts because it means they're best friends, too. He doesn't think that there's a universe where he knows Clary without them being close.

He sighs into the phone as soon as Clary picks up. 

“What's up?”, she wants to know.

Simon sighs again. “Jace is being a dick.”

“And what is  _ new _ ?”

“He threw me out?”, Simon offers.

“Shit, that  _ is _ new. What happened?”, she wants to know.

“If only I knew.”

 

-

 

“A beautiful work, my dear.”, the Seelie Queen says with a curt nod towards Sebastian. “Your portrayal of your sister must've been quite impressive.”

Sebastian grants her a smile. “I've kept an eye on her since my father had captured my mother.”, he explains. “It was easy to acquire the information in question.”

“Good work.”, the Queen praises. “And is our plan fruitful?”

“Clarissa is alternating between worrying about her best friend and our dear brother.”, Sebastian states. “I dare to say it works.”

The Queen chuckles in appreciation.

 

-

 

For some reason, Simon 4.0 has set Clary as his emergency contact. While it makes him wonder about his mother and sister (and his dad, he thinks - there's worlds where his dad is alive), he's glad because it means her address is in his phone and he won't have to ask her for it. Means he can avoid yet another awkward situation concerning something he should know.

He's starstruck, however, when it's not Clary who opens the door to her apartment but Raphael. Like, a version of him that looks almost the same as  _ his _ , with his hair styled and a dress shirt on. 

“Raphael?”

“Hi, Si,” Raphael says and before Simon knows it, he's wrapped into a hug. “Clary told me about Jace. Are you alright? What happened?”

Simon just stares at him for a moment, confused by the open concern. If he didn't know already he'd assume now that he's in an alternative universe because there's no way Raphael 1.0 would hug him just like that, or that he would live with Clary (what's up with  _ that _ ?).

“I-- it's, uh, difficult.”, Simon says. “I'd rather not talk about it right now.”

“Yeah, sure.”, Raphael responds and finally pulls him in. “We probably have ice cream in store.”

“Ice cream would be wonderful.”, he smiles softly.

As Raphael closes the door, Simon moves towards the living room where he finds Clary crouching over a piece of paper. She looks exactly the same as usual, with her hair in a bun and a paintbrush behind her ear, a few streaks of paint on her cheek.

She looks up when she hears Simon's footsteps and gets up from her seat on the floor to embrace him as well. “Si, what happened?”

Simon presses his lips together and shakes his head shortly, indicating that he doesn't want to talk about it. 

Nonverbal communication seems to be a thing between them in World 4.0 because Clary just nods and says, “Well, come in, we'll put on Star Wars and cuddle it out.”

To his surprise, that offer also includes Raphael and only moments later, he finds himself on the couch with Clary and Raphael on either of his sides and a huge bowl of ice cream on his lap.

He quickly realizes that Clary and Raphael are not dating, as has been his first thought upon seeing they live together, which helps him calm down somewhat. It would've been  _ way _ too weird if not only he and Jace would get more than along, but Clary and Raphael, too. He's been thinking about that for half the movie, and about Jace, too, so it's no surprise that he realizes something else.

“ _ I _ have been a dick.”, he whispers quietly, “Not Jace.”

Raphael lifts his head from where it's resting on Simon's shoulder and asks, “What did you do?”

And that's when Simon realizes that Raphael must be Simon 4.0’s best friend, because he's not arguing about how  _ no _ , Simon can't be the bad guy. He takes things as they are and would call Simon out on his shit if necessary.

“It's-- he's had a bad episode.”, Simon explains, “And I've been an asshole about it.”

“Jeez, no wonder he got mad at you.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”, Simon tells him. “ _ God _ , I am so  _ stupid _ . And now he  _ hates _ me.”

“Come on, Si, that’s not true,” Clary says softly and starts rubbing his back,

“He’s  _ never _ told me he’d hate me before, no matter how bad it’s been.”, Simon points out. He doesn’t know which Simon is speaking, but it’s something Simon 1.0 would say, too. After all, Jace has shown his dislike towards him more often than not, but  _ never _ has he labelled it ‘hate’ himself. Hell, the guy has even saved his life multiple times. To hear those exact words were hurtful to him, as well.

“If you apologize for your behaviour, it’ll be fine.”, Raphael says. “Especially when you admit exactly what you’ve done wrong. It’d would work for me.”

Simon blinks at him, slowly, and considers his words. He knows that this tip is not meant for simon 1.0, that it doesn’t necessarily apply to Raphael 1.0, but he can’t help but wonder. “I’ll, uh, try that.”, he tells him. “Tomorrow. When he’s stopped screaming.”

“Sounds like a plan.”, Clary nods. 

A couple of hours later, Simon has no problem with leaving this world. If Simon 4.0 has fucked up this badly, it’s his own thing to work on - just like his issues are his own.


	5. World 5.0

To himself, Raphael can admit that he's hiding. His Clan, however, assumes he's mourning, the dark circles under his eyes and the exhaustion from fighting and nothing more. It's better this way, for them not to know about what he's been up to with Isabelle Lightwood, he thinks as he rolls over on the bed. He's chosen a different room to spend his time in, one of the sparely renovated rooms in the basement level - far from any noise, far from any person.

He's never seen a mundane on cold turkey in the flesh, but he knows enough about it to decide that for a vampire it's entirely different. He's not sweating, no fidgeting, but overall feels uneasy in his skin with a pain in his chest like someone clawed it open. The blood he's drunk today was that of a guy who's smoked pot shortly before dying - he knows fighting drugs with drugs doesn’t seem fitting, but it's not a really bad one; he should be okay.

He's still the head of the Clan, though, so he's told Stan to inform him if something were to happen. And of course, even after such a monstrous disaster as has happened with the Soul Sword, they don't get more than a day of silence.

“What is it?”, Raphael demands to know when the door to his room is opened.

“It's-- the Morgenstern girl. Wants to see you.”

“Tell her she's not wanted,” Raphael shoots, unable to hide his anger. How dare she, the one who's brought pain upon them all, to appear and order people around?

“She said she won't leave until you came to speak to her.”, Stan says quietly, “It's about the fledgeling.”

At the mention of Simon, Raphael sits up. Clarissa wouldn't come to him until something happened to Simon - and whether he likes it or not, he'd rather not be at fault if he died. Again. 

“I will go and speak to her.”, he tells Stan before he adds, “She'll leave then, I hope.”

He knows that his…  _ liking _ of Simon is no secret among the vampires, but he'd rather starve to death than make it shown toward any of them. Especially in their current situation.

Stan nods. “I'll lead her into the salon.”

“Thank you.”, Raphael says and gets up from the bed when Stan leaves. 

He wonders if he should bother with changing into a new suit, or if he should do something to hide the traces of all that's happened. In the end, after a look into the mirror, he decides not to. The Shadowhunter should see what her kind have done to him.

He speeds into the salon so that he would be there before her, acting as if he were sitting there the whole night and doing Clan-related things. His Clan, his family, is allowed to know that he's not at his best at the moment - none of them are. But to the outside, he has to keep a graceful appearance so that nobody knows of their current weakness.

Clarissa looks worn out, too, as she walks into the room. Raphael can understand that she probably hasn't slept well (or at all), either, but he's denying himself to feel sorry for her. 

“What do you want?”, he asks.

She doesn't do a big speech before coming to the point. “Simon's disappeared.”, she states in a weak voice.

Raphael raises an eyebrow. “So you thought we had him? He's not here.”

“Do you have any idea where he could be?”

“ _ You're _ his best friend. Shouldn't you know his hiding places?”, Raphael asks and can't help but chuckle in disbelief.

Clarissa shakes her head. “He's  _ nowhere _ .”

“Well, I can't say that's a pity.”, Raphael says sternly. “You've heard now that he's not here, so you may leave.”

“You-- You don't  _ care _ ?”, Clarissa says, choking on tears.

“No, Morgenstern, imagine that: I  _ don't _ .”, Raphael shoots. “Simon's not part of my Clan and I'm not his babysitter.”

“But-- what if he's hurt?”

“That's not my problem.”, Raphael decides. And it shouldn't be - Simon's not a part of his life any more. “You should leave now.”

Clarissa bites her lip, staring at him in a mixture of disbelief and anger. Honestly, Raphael couldn't care less if she truly started despising him now. One more Shadowhunter to add to the list.

Then she nods and turns to walk to the door.

Raphael lets out a soft sigh, glad that he doesn't have to keep standing here now, wasting more energy than he has. 

But just before she's reached the door, Clarissa turns around once more. “If you ever cared about him in  _ any way _ , you should help looking for him.”, she tells him bitterly before finally stepping through.

Again, Raphael sighs as he leans against the closest sofa. He doesn't -  _ can't _ afford to get involved in a business that's not his again, because of his own condition, because of the Clan.

 

-

 

World 5.0 is the place where Simon discovers that he doesn't have to wait hours to leave a dimension. Up to now he's awaited the soft tug in his chest when he came close to being stuck for good. World 5.0, however he's left within mere seconds.

He thought entering a body post-sex has been weird, but  _ God _ , pre-sex is something he hadn't even thought about. He's found himself in a setting that resembled one of his wet dreams after reading a particularly smutty Cherik fic, and for some reason this time it starred Magnus instead of James McAvoy? 

Simon’s just started to pray that he can leave and forget that has ever happened. And then he did.

 

-

 

Raphael scrunches up his nose at the smell as he crosses the boat house. It's almost unbelievable that Simon has spent entire days here - he can barely think with how badly it smells like dog. 

He walks around, picking up things that Simon's left behind here and there. It doesn't seem to be any more than the untidiness of a teenager, so Raphael assumes the other hasn't been kidnapped. Or at least not from here.

When he hears footsteps approaching, Raphael hides between the stacks of boats, in case whoever is to blame for Simon's disappearance appears. 

A figure enters the house, looking around carefully before calling Simon's name.

At that, Raphael steps out of the shadows. “Lucian.”

The werewolf turns to face him. “Raphael,” he says, “I'd thought you were-- I only smelled vampire.”

“And  _ I _ couldn't even smell that it's a werewolf entering, with everything smelling like dog.”, Raphael states. “You let him live like this?”

“It was the only safest option.”

Raphael snorts. “Yeah, safe enough for me to enter at least twice without you noticing.”

Lucian frowns at him. As it appears, Simon hasn't told him about Raphael showing up to tell him about Camille.

“Clarissa came to me.”, Raphael tells him. “To tell me Simon went missing.”

At that, Lucian presses his lips together and nods. “She's really on the edge. With Jace out of the picture, Isabelle sick--” Raphael shudders at the mention of her name. “--the Soul Sword gone and now Simon, too--”

“The Sword is gone?”, Raphael repeats. “Did it occur to any of you that--”

“That Simon - or whoever has him - took it?”, Lucian finishes. “Of course. And maybe the disappearances  _ are _ related. It's still weird, though.”

Raphael stays silent at that. It seems unbelievable to imagine that Simon would leave his friends behind - and that he'd take a weapon with him? It doesn't sound like him at all.

He watches as Lucian moves towards a wall and kneels down. What he opens is a fridge and he takes a bottle out of it. 

“Here,” Lucian says as he holds it out to him, “you look like you could need it.”

Raphael accepts the blood, even though he knows that it's not  _ this _ what he needs. “Thank you.”

They sit in silence for a while, Lucian doing nothing as he sips from the bottle every now and then. It should be uncomfortable, a vampire and a werewolf sitting together - especially after what's happened the last time they met - but it's not too bad. Lucian has an aura of caring, no matter whom he's facing and Raphael knows better than to disrespect it.

“You know what's strange?”, Lucian says after a few minutes. “Magnus has done a location spell to find Simon throughout all of New York. And he hasn't found him. And-- Simon's never been out of the city--”

“He's been to India.”, Raphael says quietly.

“What?”

“With Magnus. To look for Camille.”

“Oh,” Lucian makes. “But still-- he loves the city too much. There's no way he'd voluntarily leave it, no matter what. Him leaving New York on his own is as if he disappeared from the earth.”

“Disappeared from the earth…”, Raphael repeats. Then, suddenly, he almost drops his bottle. “I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	6. World 6.0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains **serious** spoilers for the last few chapters of City of Heavenly Fire, aka the finale book in the TMI book series. Be cautious.

To Simon's surprise, the body he enters is seated in one of the rooms of the Institute as he knows it. It's emptier than the Lightwoods’ rooms, and even paler than Clary’s, with literally nothing there that seems to belong to him. He guesses it makes sense, considering he hasn't spend a single day here since Aldertree took over.

To his surprise, Isabelle is sitting on his bedside with her arms crossed over her chest as she sleeps. She looks thinner than he remembers, but other than that healthier than he'd expected. From what he's heard, Raphael's bites had been a drug to her and he'd have assumed that being off it would make her look like a heroin junkie. But no, it's almost as if it's passed her like a cold.

He shifts in the bed and sits up, carefully, and yet Isabelle wakes up instantly. He guesses even a vampire can't be undetected under the skills of a schooled Shadowhunter.

“Simon,” Isabelle smiles softly. “You're awake.”

“How long have I been gone?”, he wants to know.

At that, she frowns a little. “Why-- You've been asleep for the night. We figured it'd be best if someone watched you in case… in case you remembered some more.”

“Remember? Oh, the other dimensions…”, Simon recalls. That would make sense with all he's encountered and seen.

“You mean Edom. And that dream.”, Isabelle concludes. “You remember anything?”

Now it's Simon's turn to frown. Does that mean he didn't travel through multiple dimensions after all? Just one and then it kept changing? “I-- Where's Clary?”

Isabelle presses her lips together. “Asleep, I'd assume. I'd rather not walk in on her and Jace, to be honest.”

Simon grimaces. “Yeah, I get it. So let's-- uh, let's wait.”

 

-

 

“You think Simon's in a different  _ dimension _ ?”, Lucian repeats, unable to hide his disbelief.

Raphael understands the sentiment, after all travelling between dimensions is something that's merely a legend among the Downworld - it's said that one of the talents of the faerie folk would be to see into different possibilities before accepting any kind of bargain; that they could access dimensions that no-one else knows. It's only a slight chance of that to be real, but if it is, it would just be Simon's talent to get involved in it. 

Raphael shrugs. “It  _ could _ be. Think of it, it's a great way to get rid off him.”

“Why would anyone want to get rid off Simon?”

Raphael doesn't know if it's a rational part of Lucian that's speaking, or if it's fatherly concern. Logically, it's apparent that Simon plays nothing but a passive role in the whole game. There's barely anything he's done that's been his own decision (not even freeing Camille), so why would someone think it's necessary to get him out of the picture?

“I have no idea,” Raphael admits. “But it's a possibility. We should ask Meliorn if he knows anything.”

“I think Clary hasn't asked him yet.”, Lucian states and Raphael takes it as enough of an agreement to get up from where they sit. 

 

-

 

Talking with Isabelle has been weird. It's been like she's carefully avoided anything related to the Shadowhunter-business, as if it's something he's not allowed to know off. Which is, like, really stupid because he's literally  _ involved _ . 

When he's asked if they'd found the Sword (hell, he doesn't even know how long he's been trapped in that other dimension), Isabelle's just frowned even more and changed the topic. She's asked him about all kinds of things - from his music to what's High School been like (which is really weird but honestly? Nothing shocks him any more).

Some time must've passed when Clary finally arrives in his room, interrupting him telling Isabelle about the time they had made Maureen dance in front of the whole class. 

Isabelle gets up as soon as the door opens and hurries to Clary, grabbing her arm violently. It seems off how she does it, not like they normally do but as if something estranged them.

Izzy starts whispering something into Clary’s ear and to his surprise, Simon actually has to listen closely when he wants to eavesdrop (which he's allowed to since it's about him, thank you very much). Maybe he really should finally train all of his senses.

He only hears snippets of what Isabelle says, “Remembers wrong… Maureen… Sword…” and sees Clary frowns before answering something along the lines of, “I'll try with him.”

Isabelle doesn't look too happy but nods. Before she leaves the room, she looks back at him with a concerned expression.

“Clary,” he says happily when his best friend sits down, moving to hug her. Clary follows his movements but something feels off, as if she needs to be especially careful. Maybe he's been hurt somewhere, he wouldn't know. “I've missed you! Did you find out who tricked me into this nightmare?”

It may have been her face that convinced him to step through the portal, but it can't have been  _ her _ . He's told Magnus 2.0 as much and he's fully convinced of it still. If Clary’d meant to send him away for  _ any _ reason, she would have told him. Definitely.

She leans back and raises her brows. “What do you mean?”

“The-- the dimension,” he blinks, “--thingy.”

“You don't remember, do you?”, she asks. “That was Sebastian - in a way.”

Simon shakes his head. He  _ has _ met several Sebastians, of course, but he wouldn't picture either of them to fit into the world they've been thrown into. Then again, he wouldn't have thought Clary to be Voldemort’s daughter either. “What about the Sword? Do you have it? Did he take it, too?”

“The Soul Sword?”, Clary wants to know. “It's-- Valentine had it. We've had it back for weeks now.”

“For  _ weeks _ ?”, Simon gasps. How long has he been in that loop?

She looks at him in concern. “You remember recent things, though not completely. But Izzy said you also got things wrong, like-- I don't know if Asmodeus… look, Magnus isn't here at the moment, so I can't ask him but maybe my mum knows something.”

“Your mum?”, Simon repeats. And suddenly everything snaps into a picture. He'd thought he'd arrived back at World 1.0, only some time later, but if there's something he's learnt it's that if somebody is truly dead - and not like a vampire - they're gone forever. He's not back home after all. “I-- Clary--” This world sounds supernatural enough for him to tell her, “I'm not your Simon.”

“What? No, of course you are my Simon--,” Clary assures him. “You don't remember but you are--”

“No, I'm not.”, he says firmly. “Listen, Clary, I'm from another dimension. You need to believe me.”

She looks like she wants to argue some more, but after a moment she sighs. Simon notes that she looks tired, defeated even, and wonders what's up with this dimension. “Tell me about your life.”, she offers.

And so he does. He tells her how he and Clary 1.0 have been friends since childhood (agreement) and how they'd discovered the Downworld on her 18th birthday (“You're older. It was my 16th.”). That he's become a vampire thanks to Camille (“No, it was an accident. Raphael was your sire.” Simon ignores the past tense.) and the whole issue about Valentine and the Mortal Cup, then Valentine and the Soul Sword (it's almost the same). All in all, it seems like this world is pretty much the same as his, only with a couple of differences.

“And when we lost the Soul Sword, my Clary wanted to try finding it in another dimension. It might have been a trick, though.”, he closes.

Not only has it been weird to explain to her everything her doppelgänger has been present to, but he's felt as if the words were slipping from his mind at times. As if his memories weren't replaced with new ones, like in the other dimensions, but as if they got deleted from the hardware of his brain. He guesses he understands now why Izzy and Clary had been so obsessed with him remembering things.

“That's… as screwed up as this world.”, Clary says. “We need to figure out how to get you back.”

“Don't worry, I'll be gone soon.” He tells her about the spell Magnus 2.0 and Ragnor 2.0 had put on him.

“Throwing people into other dimensions  _ is _ a Sebastian thing to do, though.”, she says with a frown.

“Who is that Sebastian figure anyway?”, Simon wants to know. “You mentioned how you had a Valentine, too, but it sounds like he's his equivalent.”

“Like father, like son.”, she says bitterly. “Only worse.”

“He's Valentine’s  _ son _ ? So is he--”

“My brother.”

“Shit.”, he answers slowly. “I hope he's not another parallel between our worlds.”

“I'll tell you about him, in case he is.”, she decides. “I don't want my friends to be in danger, no matter what dimension they're in.”

It's the most Clary thing she could've said.


	7. World 7.0

Simon doesn't even know what exactly he's thought about when he left World 6.0 - probably how incredible and sad it is to think that there are two world so alike in suffering and how he wouldn't want any other version of Clary to be in so much pain. 

He knows that he's still not back at home at the feeling of a ring on his hand - he's never been a fan of jewelry and he doesn't think anybody would just put some on him. He takes in the bright kitchen that opens up around him, the windows so big you could think you're outside. 

It only makes sense after all he's just seen, that Clary is standing in front of him, laughing loudly as she stirs dough in a big bowl. Simon notes that she wears a ring identical to his own and even though he can conclude what it means, he doesn't even think about leaving this world. It's good to see Clary like this, fully happy, and decides it's worth staying some time.

“Stop daydreaming, Si, we only have one and a half hours left!”, she tells him sternly without breaking out of her laugh.

Simon doesn't even know what she's referring to, but he laughs along and looks down where a pan is on the stove, probably meant to be finished by him. God, does he hope it's nothing more difficult than vegetarian carbonara. 

-

 

“Meliorn,” Lucian says. There's still some anger in his voice, most likely caused by the fact that the faerie wanted to kill his step-daughter. He's also showing the appropriate amount of respect, too - somehow. 

“Lucian Graymark.”, Meliorn nods. Then he looks at Raphael. “Raphael Santiago.”

“Yeah, fine, you know our full names.”, Raphael says with a roll of his eyes. He's had several people claim that he and his Clan are too dramatic, but in contrast to the faerie folk they don't make their speeches take up three years by stating obvious things. “I think we have established that last week already.”

“Why, I’d almost think something is pressuring you,” Meliorn says with his eyes fixed on him. “What’s gotten you so down?”

Raphael narrows his eyes and bites down the scowl that’s forming in the back of his throat. Of course, he can’t come to Isabelle’s former lover without getting anything handed to him.

Lucian cuts in sharply, “Meliorn, say, is it possible to open a door between dimensions?”

In response, Meliorn smirks, his eyes almost glowing. If you ask Raphael, it’s as much of an answer as a clear yes. “Why would I discuss the talents of my kind with you two?”

“I recall that you’ve wanted Clary dead.”, Lucian says, staring at him. “You owe us.”

Meliorn raises an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, the vampires have agreed to that plan. And in addition, I have helped to - ah,  _ try _ to defeat Valentine.”

Lucian crosses his arms. “Yeah, and I’m pissed nonetheless.”

Raphael lets out a small chuckle at that remark and earns a look from both other men present. “Meliorn, we just want to know whether you’ve seen Simon Lewis.”

Meliorn smile grows even wider. “Your fledgling.”

“Yes.”

“What makes you think I would have seen him?”

Lucian groans. “Like I said: dimensions. We thought that maybe he was… taken.”

“Only a few of us are able to conjure such a portal.”, Meliorn answers. “Only the most powerful.”

“That includes you, doesn’t it?”, Raphael says. “Do you think you could find out if he was taken? And if yes, to which dimension?”

He  _ hates _ how slow things happen - how he has to ask a thousand questions for getting one simple answer. It makes him angry, that people disrespect him, that they don’t seem to care. For all they know, Simon could be hurt and be left to die somewhere. He’d rather find him sooner than later.

“Maybe.”, Meliorn answers, slowly as if any fast answer were his doom.

What he didn’t think to consider, though, was Raphael’s annoyance. Before he even realizes it himself, he’s sped up to the faerie and pressed him against the next tree. His arm is pressed against his throat, their faces only inches apart.

“Listen, we’ll make this very easy.”, he hisses. “Lucian here, he cares about Simon like a father. He’s very desperate to find him. And if you can remember, he’s also been a Circle member, once upon a time. I think he’s learnt how to torture Downworlders.”

He shoots a look over to where Lucian’s still standing, frozen at the display. When the werewolf nods, Raphael can’t even tell if either of them is bluffing.

“And what’s in it for you?”, Meliorn wants to know.

Raphael just scowls. 

 

-

 

“Why did we agree to marry that early again?”, Simon asks as they finish setting the table. He sinks down and lets out a loud groan. Cooking for a whole family is exhausting. “I’d have liked to live without feeding an entire army.”

Clary chuckles again. “Taxes.”, she states. “Plus, everyone knew it would happen eventually, remember? So why should we have waited some more?”

Simon grins at her. Even if he isn’t the right Simon for this world, he enjoys having fun with Clary enough to play along. With finding out that not only are they married (like  _ what _ ?) but that they’d also have her entire family - mother, father and brother - over, he’s decided to stay. With all the variants of people who could claim each title, he’s decided it wouldn’t be too bad to stay a while longer. As long as he doesn’t stay for longer than 12 hours, he should be fine.

As if they’d sensed his thoughts, the doorbell rings. Before he even thinks about it, Simon’s at the door.

He flinches at the sight of Valentine but catches himself early enough for it to go unnoticed. If you ask him, he even manages the hug he’s pulled in pretty well. The one he gives Jocelyn, though, is full of love - never would he have thought he’d ever get to embrace her again. He wants to show her just how much she means to him without coming up with a way too awkward speech.

And then it’s Jonathan’s turn. Upon hearing the name, Simon couldn’t help but imagine Jace to stop by - after all, he’s only just wrapped his mind around the fact that he should be Clary’s long lost brother. That he isn’t after all hasn’t imprinted in his mind yet.

Whom he faces, however, is a slightly taller and leaner man whose hair is almost strawberry blond. His face is sharper than he’d expected and his eyes are nothing but a blue. Currently they’re wrinkled in a grin as the two of them clap their hands and pull each other into a man hug.

“Man, you guys have a timing!”, Simon says as they’ve all stepped in. “We’ve just finished cooking.”

 

-

 

“Let us get this clear: you will open up a portal and scan for Simon  _ throughout every possible dimension _ .”, Raphael growls. “You will do it without wasting any more of our time and once you found him, you will leave the portal open long enough so that I can go in and get him. Is that clear?”

“Of course.”

“I want you to swear it.”, Raphael continues. “To swear it on your Queen’s life. If you break the oath, you’re cursing the forests she’s living in by being untrue.”

“Raphael,” Lucian says carefully. “That seems unnecessary. He can’t lie, after all.”

Meliorn starts making noises in agreement, but Raphael pushes against his throat again. “I don’t care. I don’t trust him either way. I need assurance.”

“Fine,” Meliorn mutters, “I swear it on my kind, on my Queen and on the forests.”

Raphael growls at him once more before nodding and releasing him. “Well then. Do your thing.”


	8. World 8.0

Simon’s left World 7.0 as soon as the family dinner started properly. While he’d been curious to find out what this version of Valentine was like, what this Jonathan was like, he’d also gathered that being around a table full of references to a life that’s not his and memories of Simon 7.0 being brought up wouldn’t encourage Simon 1.0 to stay around. And since he didn’t plan on staying there for real, he left before he lost the ability to.

He’s found himself in a flat he doesn’t recognize, all on his own. If he remembers correctly, that’s a first. 

It also means that he has enough time to walk around and figure out things by himself without having to impersonate a person he doesn’t even know.

The living room actually looks kinda minimalistic, safe for a framed Star Wars poster (he’s  _ so _ glad that Star Wars is a universal thing) and a couple of photographs on the window ledge at the other end of the room. The furniture seems quite expensive and whoever has chosen it must have a more elegant taste than he does. Though, actually, how does he know that it’s not Simon 8.0 who’s an interior designer or the like?

He steps over to the other side of the room to look at the photographs. The first one shows younger versions of him and Clary grinning into the camera, each of them holding a cone of ice cream. It resembles pictures that his mother would have taken when she went swimming with them.

The next one captures his attention completely. It’s a black and white picture of what can only be this World’s version of Raphael. He’s wearing a dark suit, not looking into the camera as he smiles at something (or someone) off screen, looking more content than Simon could imagine him. Not only is the model beautiful, but the way he’s photographed, with the focus on him only and everything else fading away as if someone slowed down time, is simply breathtaking. 

He almost doesn’t dare moving on to the next picture.

It’s another shot of Raphael wearing a suit, but this time he’s holding onto someone while dancing. There’s a tiny smile on his face as he stares into the other man’s eyes. Simon has to take a double look to recognize his own face - he doesn’t look too different, but the way Simon 8.0’s gaze is fixed on Raphael, an equally small smile but the eyes almost glittering, it’s something he’s never seen himself do before. Not even when people took pictures of him looking at Clary back when he thought he had a genuine crush on her. 

_ Shit _ , this version of him is completely and utterly in love with Raphael Santiago.

 

-

 

With one last look at Lucian, Raphael steps towards the portal. He doubts that it’s going to be anything like the ones warlocks conjure, but he’s not very intimidated by it either. Meliorn has  _ sworn _ that everything would be alright and even if Raphael still doesn’t feel completely comfortable with trusting him, he knows that the faerie would never break an oath like that. And with the assurance that Simon’s stuck on the other side, he has no problem with stepping through it.

Entering a new body feels like… He doesn’t have the words to describe it. As if something liquid runs over your body, leaving a trace of something that’s outside of your body and slowly entering it. It’s a weird feeling and Raphael looks down on himself once he’s in. 

He’s still wearing a suit - a better one than what he’d put on in a daze - in a dark red and finds his hands to be softer-looking than they are in his dimension. He’s holding onto a pair of keys and when he looks up, he realizes he’s standing in front of a door that this dimension’s Raphael must’ve planned to open.

He decides to play along in the hopes of finding Simon like that.

The door opens up to reveals a small hall at the beginning of an apartment. There’s a coat check at the wall to his right with multiple coats hanging down from it. He recognizes a few of it to look like something he’d wear and guesses they belong to this World’s counterpart of himself. There’s also a broad mixture of shoes beneath, going from sneakers to dress shoes.

He wonders for a moment if he should take off his shoes but decides against in favour of not wasting any more time. 

Once he’s opened the door leading further into the flat, he freezes. In front of him: Simon, of course. But this version looks slightly older, broader than  _ his _ version of him and better dressed. 

At the sound of the door closing, Simon turns and his eyes widen in surprise. Before Raphael can even open his mouth, Simon says, “ _ Jesus _ , you look good in make-up.”

Raphael frowns and lifts a hand to touch his lips. And yes, when he looks down on his finger, he sees a hint of lipstick on it. “Uh, that-- that must have been Magnus?”, he tells him.

Simon nods and averts his eyes shortly to something that Raphael can’t see from his position. He’s still trying to find a way to find out if Meliorn’s been right and this is their World’s Simon but he’s unsure as to how he should do it.

The next moment, Simon’s walking up to him with a wide smile, one that even in this appearance of him makes Raphael’s newly beating heart stutter, and says, “Welcome home!”, before kissing him.

If asked, Raphael would insist that he’s just played along to this World’s rules. It seems that this version of him lives together with this version of Simon, that they’re dating even, so it’s only natural he’d kiss back. The truth, however, is more complicated than he’d like to admit. 

He’s pressing his lips against Simon’s, placing his hand on the back of his head and just moves along to what Simon indicates to do. He’s losing himself in the kiss, he knows, but he can’t help it. 

With all that’s going on in the past few weeks, Simon entering his life only to leave it again - all the troubles with Valentine, with Camille and then Isabelle - it seems almost normal, reassuring, to be reunited with Simon like this, even if it’s not the right version.

But then he snaps out of it.

 

-

 

Simon does not ever want the kiss to stop. He  _ knows _ he’s not kissing Raphael 1.0 but he’s been thinking about this for so long now - although, with how things have gone he’d never have dreamt about being able to. He’s not thinking clearly at this point, but it doesn’t matter because he’s kissing Raphael and it’s  _ alright _ .

Plus, if Simon 8.0 and Raphael 8.0 are so seriously dating, it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss this World’s Raphael the kiss he longs for.

Simon can’t help but whimper softly when they part at last and tries his best to keep his forehead against Raphael’s. The other’s hand is on the back of his head, having pressed them together only seconds ago. He sees that Raphael’s eyes are closed as he breathes hard and Simon smiles softly.

His face falls when Raphael blinks and breathes, “Fledgling.”

Logically, he’s aware that this isn’t  _ his _ Raphael speaking - for all he knows, they could be vampires on World 8.0 as well - but it sends shivers down his spine nonetheless. The nickname that Raphael 1.0 has chosen to give him still has an effect on him and for a moment he almost hopes--

“ _ Simon _ ,” Raphael says firmly and drops his hand. As he leans back, he utters another nickname, “ _ Bebé _ .”

Something in Simon must have a short circuit to how to find out if it’s really Raphael 1.0, because before he even thinks he wants to know, “What position did you make up to keep me around?”

“I didn’t make--”

“Yes, you did make it up-- we both know it.”, Simon says. He toys with jumping away, now that he knows it’s actually  _ Raphael _ he’s facing, the one who’s threatened him, the one he’s betrayed. But instead, he surges forward again to hug him. “What--? How are you here? Why?”

He feels Raphael’s arm on his back shortly before it's moved away. “I'm getting you back home.”, Raphael says.

Simon doesn't know what to say - should he thank him? Should he say how surprised he is? So instead, he just nods. “Okay.”

They slowly separate at last, each of them taking a step back and only when he sees Raphael’s smudged make-up (which really,  _ really _ has looked good), does he realize something. “I, uh-- how long have you been here? Because if you were-- if I'd known, I wouldn't have--”

“Simon, shut up,” Raphael snaps. “We need to concentrate on finding the portal. I don't know how it works, but I've entered this world in front of the door. Maybe the portal’s out there.”

He turns around before Simon can even say anything. “You know, I know you don't belong to this dimension, but your appearance makes it into the weirdest one.”

Raphael looks over his shoulder. “You've been in  _ more _ dimensions?”

Simon nods. “It's, uh, it's a long story.”

“Well, we might not have a lot of time, so it will have to wait.”


	9. World 1.0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting the last chapter now, too, because it's already the evening of the 5th over here and I want this to be finished before the episode airs :)

“Is this really safe?”, Luke asks Meliorn. 

They're both standing on each side of the portal as if they were guardians of it. Luke's eyes shift from the portal to Meliorn almost minutely, searching for unexpected movements from either. 

“If they stay in too long, they can get trapped permanently.”, Meliorn tells him.

Luke's eyes widen. “ _ Permanently _ ? How long is too long?”

“It is hard to tell.”, Meliorn says slowly. “Time passes differently in every dimension. Those few minutes that Raphael has been gone could be hours in the dimension he's in.”

If he didn't need Meliorn to keep the portal steady, Luke would have punched him in the face. It's almost laughable, really, just what an audacity the faerie has while talking to him. Not only has he had the idea of killing Clary, but now he's not even open about how dangerous entering another dimension is.

For all they know, the respective versions of Simon and Raphael could be hours apart in the dimension - that Simon is indeed over there doesn't mean that Raphael would be able to find him immediately. 

“Something's coming,” Meliorn says and only a second later the portal starts vibrating.

Luke gets into a fighting position in case it's not Raphael (and Simon, he adds, hopefully) but something else and together they wait.

It feels like minutes until finally two figures emerge, their hands joined until one of them collapses onto the ground.

Luke's by Simon's side before Raphael can even move and shakes him softly. 

“He's been wandering through dimensions the whole time,” Raphael coughs. “He must be exhausted.”

Luke nods and moves to pick Simon up, lifting him onto his arms. “Has he said any more?”

“Not yet.”, Raphael says. 

Luke follows his gaze as he looks around. There's no trace of Meliorn or the portal left.

“Bastard.”, Raphael mutters.

“We'll deal with him later.”, Luke decides and starts walking. “We need to get Simon to the Institute.”

“The Institute?”, Raphael repeats. “No, he's coming to the Hotel.”

“You mean the place with dozens of people whom you've told to kill him on sight?”, Luke asks tiredly. He remembers what Simon has told him, that's why he's been so surprised when Raphael came to look for him with actual concern written on his face. Now, on the prospect of sending him into the Clan’s arms, he can't help but be confused.

“The order had been existent for  _ one _ day.”, Raphael says. “I'd been angry when I voiced it and none of the vampires would have actually been so foolish to execute it. They would have known-- I want him to be around his Clan.”

Luke grimaces at that. He doesn't need to be a genius to understand what's going on between Raphael and Simon and he understands why Raphael would want him around, but he'd know him to be safer in the Institute. “If you take him with you, the Shadowhunters will storm your Hotel. I doubt that you'll be glad about that.”

He watches Raphael as he gives in almost immediately. The fight about the Soul Sword must've exhausted him more than he'd thought, seeing how pale even his lips look and how defined the red circles under his eyes are. “I-- fine. He'll need to rest anyway.”, Raphael says.

Luke nods. “You look like you need it, too.”

 

-

 

Simon feels like he has a déjà vu. Well, as much of a déjà vu as you can have when you keep slipping from your own memories into that of another version of yourself. And yet, when he opens his eyes, he finds himself lying in a bed of the Institute. This time he recognises the room as the one he'd occupied until about a week ago. There's still a few things lying around that he mrtve missed while collecting his things.

This time, however, it's Clary who sits on a chair next to his bed rather than Isabelle. She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees he's awake and pulls him into a tight hug. 

“Oh, thank God.”, she cries. “Suddenly you were gone and we didn't know where-- Another dimension--?”

“It's--”, Simon swallows. Is he really back home? For all he knows, Raphael suddenly being there and claiming to be the right one could've been another trick. “Am I really--”

“Yes, Simon, you're back home. Luke brought you back!”, she says and Simon wants to believe her, he really does. But if he remembers correctly, it had been Raphael-- “What happened? How did you get there?”

“It's been a trick,” Simon says. He doesn't know if he's back but he needs to believe it. He doesn't want to be stuck for any longer. He tells her about her lookalike and how he's been sent from dimension to dimension.

In the end, Clary looks furious. “I'll go and ask Luke if Meliorn knew anything more.”, she decides. “You should sleep some more. You've been gone for two days.”

Simon nods and closes his eyes. He doesn't know for how long he's been here, in this dimension, and there's no sign of a tugging in his chest. Maybe he  _ is _ home.

 

-

 

The next time he opens his eyes, he's certain he must still be in another dimension. Alec's sitting there, looking down on him with a serious face. That would never happen in his world, no matter what.

“Ah, you're awake.”, Alec says in a neutral voice. “I guess that means I can leave again.”

Okay, maybe he is back after all.

Alec actually moves to get up. 

“Wait!”, Simon calls. “Why were you here?”

“Clary wanted someone to keep an eye on you while you slept. Jace and Izzy… they both aren't really up to it at the moment so I--”, he says. “But since you're awake now--”

“Huh, thanks.”

“You should do us all a favour and stop getting kidnapped.”, Alec says. “The last times we knew who had you, at least.”

Simon presses his lips together at that. There's a name running in his head and while he can't quite place it right now, he asks, “Hey, Alec. Do you know a Sebastian?”

Alec frowns. “The son of a family friend is called Sebastian.”, he says slowly. “Why?”

“You might want to look into him.”, Simon tells him.

Alec still looks confused, but he nods. Simon guesses that he must think it's only the delirium talking out of him, but it may work anyway. 

He stays in his bed and plays some game on his phone to pass the time until someone visits him again. It gets dark as he waits and when he moves to turn on the light, he notices someone in the corner of the room.

“G--”, he chokes and clutches his chest. “Why do you always  _ do _ that?”

“If you'd--”

“Practiced my senses, I know, I know.”, Simon waves his hand. “But I'm sitting here as an invalid in case you don't know.”

Raphael steps closer and takes the seat that has held Clary earlier and then Alec. “How are you?”

“I feel as if I haven't been myself lately.” Simon grins at the glare he earns. 

He hasn't seen Raphael -  _ this _ Raphael - since… he doesn't know how long. But it's been before the whole thing with Isabelle. It's apparent that Raphael is not well, that he's suffering as much as Isabelle is (although their symptoms seem to differ except for the exhaustion written in their faces), so Simon doesn't return the question.

“You came to get me.”, Simon states. He’s figured by now that Luke must have been the one who brought him  _ here _ , but it's definitely Raphael who came to get him. There's a hidden question in the sentence, something like “ _ why _ ”, that he doesn't dare asking.

“Of course I did.”, Raphael says curtly. Then, as if to overplay it, he adds, “Valentine's daughter has been bugging me about it.”

“Oh.”

Raphael eyes the room suspiciously and sneers. From outside, the Shadowhunters’ discussions are audible (to their vampire ears, at least). “I told Lucian he shouldn't bring you here.”

“It's better than the boat house.”, Simon shrugs. Talking to Raphael like this is not as awkward as he'd thought, despite everything that's happened between them. And that he's actually come to visit him in the  _ Institute _ … “Listen,” Simon states and sits up a bit more, “I need to apologize.”

Raphael doesn't say anything but looks at him. Waits for more.

“I'm sorry for blindly doing what Clary asked me to do despite you telling me not to. I'm sorry for endangering the whole Clan.”, Simon says. Because that's what he's done - the whole Clan had turned against Camille and her wrath could've hurt them all. “And I'm sorry for doing the same mistake again. You had to come to a different  _ dimension _ because of that.”

Raphael raises an eyebrow. “But Clarissa didn't send you away, did she? She was concerned.”

Simon shakes his head. “Someone's pretended to be her.”

In response, Raphael groans softly. “Of course.”

“And, uh, so… thanks for saving me?”, Simon offers. “I knew you'd have preferred not to.”

“I'd have preferred if it didn't happen.”, Raphael agrees. “But I don't regret getting you out of it.”

There's something in the words that makes Simon blush. “I-- thanks.”

Raphael gives him a small smile. He's leaned forward during their conversation so that there's only a few centimetres between them. 

“Don't get kidnapped again.”, he tells him quietly.

Simon chuckles. “I've heard as much already.”

“Hm,” the other makes and leans back again to cross his arms, “it'd be easier to keep an eye on you if you came home.”

“Home? You mean--”

“The hotel.”, Raphael nods. “And before you start with it: the Clan's  _ never _ actually planned on killing you. They knew I was just angry.”

“And you couldn't have mentioned that, like, before I pretty much ate a rat in front of my mum?”

Raphael smirks. “Well? I suppose I was  _ still  _ a bit angry.”

“That's fair.”

“So, what do you say? Stay here or come with me?”, Raphael wants to know as he gets up.

And with all that Simon's seen and heard (and especially learnt), it's not difficult to follow Raphael 1.0 for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!! And thanks for all the love (especially to those who commented on every chapter!)!  
> Enjoy the new episode!

**Author's Note:**

> If you like, here's the [tumblr link](http://joanthangroff.tumblr.com/post/161244421558/this-house-dont-feel-like-home%22). You can share it or come talk to me, I don't bite!
> 
> Please leave a comment! They feed my creativity.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dimensions, Universes and Memories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11094606) by [HolyMad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyMad/pseuds/HolyMad), [saphaelbanewood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saphaelbanewood/pseuds/saphaelbanewood)




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